WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — David E. Bernal Neira, the Mitchel Papanicolas Family/Del Ray Glass Company Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, has been selected as the winner of the 2026 Faculty Graduate Teaching Award for CHE 59700, Data Science in Chemical Engineering.

The Faculty Graduate Teaching Award was established in 2016 in honor of the outstanding contributions to teaching in chemical engineering by Professor Phillip C. Wankat, the Lovell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering.

Bernal Neira’s research focuses on mathematical modeling and optimization of discrete nonlinear systems through novel algorithms, theory, and computational methods with applications in process and energy systems engineering.

Before joining Purdue in 2023, he earned a PhD in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a BS in physics and a BS and MS in chemical engineering from the Universidad de Los Andes.

To learn more about Bernal Neira’s class, visit the website here.